The Essex Junction Lions Club wants to thank all the young artists who participated in the Lions Clubs Peace Poster contest, and to congratulate the winners! The winning entrant, and her immediate family will be invited to attend an upcoming Lions Club meeting for the award presentation.

Winners for 2005-2006

First Place:	Gwen Merrill	7th Grade
Second Place:	Kristen Caron	7th Grade
Third Place:	Lucy Lincoln	6th Grade
Fourth Place:	Nikki Braceras	6th Grade
Fifth Place:	Ashley Lagro	6th Grade

Winners for 2004-2005

First Place:	Carlo Anelli
Second Place:	Colin Cardinal
Third Place:	Andy Mercy
Fourth Place:	Emily Bates
Fifth Place:	Casey Dubee

The Lions Club of Essex Junction, Vermont wishes to express its gratitude to Vermont Crafters, Inc., for the opportunity to once again be the designated charitable organization at their Fall 2005 Craft & Fine Arts show, held at the Champlain Valley Exposi tion in Essex Jct. Through the generosity of Sally Washburn, Kathy Rose, and their associates, the semiannual shows have become one of the Essex Lions Club's top fund raising events. Each show, hundreds of crafters donate an item to the Club to be used as a prize for a lottery-style charity raffle. Visitors and exhibitors alike purchase thousands of dollars of raffle tickets, and in turn, receive the opportunity to win one or more of the many unique products created by talented crafters. The proceeds from these raffles go directly into the charitable donations fund of the Essex Jct Lions Club. The Club donates 100% of the money raised from the public to many local, state, and international charitable organizations or individuals in need of assistance.

More than 76% of this money goes to local and state organizations; the remaining 24% is forwarded to the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), which uses the funds for international projects, such as care facilities for those with sight impairments , and for disaster relief, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the Asian tsunami.

Locally, the Essex Lions support a variety of worthy causes. We support several programs for youths. We donate to Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts; we provide funding for a "Winter Warmth" project which gives winter clothing to kids in need. We coordinate a "P eace Poster" contest, which awards savings bonds for the best interpretations of the Lions theme. Each year, two scholarships are awarded to local teens for higher education. We also make donations to the Essex Jct and Essex Town Seniors, and we help with their annual seniors picnic at Button Bay. We support the Essex Jct Meals on Wheels program. We conduct free diabetes screenings, and make a donation to the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation. The Muscular Dystrophy Foundation also receives a donation. In 2006, our club will sponsor a complete division of the EBPA Memorial Day parade.

At the state level, Lions Clubs throughout Vermont provide support for a variety of sight and hearing related programs. In cooperation with the Austine School for the Deaf in Brattleboro, Vermont Lions run a 4 week summer camp program for deaf children. Both New Hampshire and Vermont Lions clubs sponsor an annual soccer tournament to raise funds for the camp. Like the Maple Sugar Bowl, high school students, boys and girls compete in the inter-state rivalry. Our club supports the VT Diabetes Association, t he VT Association of the Blind, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind. We also sponsor free eyeglasses to qualifying individuals, in cooperation with Lenscrafters. Through Vermont Lions Charities, local moneys are available for disaster relief, a prominent examp le being the flooding in northern Vermont several years ago.

The principle objects of all Lions Clubs are to provide funding for sight and hearing organizations, and to promote health awareness programs. In the Lions year 2004-2005, over 5.2 million pairs of eyeglasses were collected and recycled worldwide. LCIF su pported more than 2.5 million cataract surgeries, and financed the construction or upgrading of 68 eye hospitals.

The International Association of Lions Clubs now has over 40000 clubs in more than 183 countries all across the world. Membership is more than 1.4 million strong. Women have become a valuable addition to Lions since the early years, and teens from age 13 to 18 are encouraged to experience the organization by joining a Leo club.

In Vermont there are approximately 50 Lions clubs, and 5 Leo clubs, in all areas of the state. Nearly 1500 dedicated men, women, and teens raise funds, and donate their efforts to contribute to their communities.

The Essex Junction Lions Club meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, September through June, at 6:30 PM, at the Lincoln Inn. Visitors are always welcome.

The Lions’ Tale - Text Version
 

The Lions’ Tale

It could be the opening scene of an epic, big screen movie. The lights come up, as a heroic, historic figure addresses a group of men. They have gathered to hear from a woman with a cause. The men listen intently as she speaks about her life, and her mi ssion. On that day, the men receive the inspiration that would forever identify them with the woman’s challenge.

But it isn't a movie. The story is real. The heroine is a real American woman. The men in the meeting room were real, too. This is the true story of Lions Clubs International.

In 1917, a Chicago insurance agent named Melvin Jones persuaded his luncheon club to join with a national organization dedicated to the improvement of their communities. Jones’ club, and other clubs from nine states agreed to rally under the banner of th e Association of Lions Clubs, then headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The men in those clubs knew they wanted to serve their communities, but they lacked focus.

Fast forward to 1925, when that woman asked to address a convention of the Lions Clubs. The woman’s name was Helen Keller. Yes, the same Helen Keller we know from books, movies and television. Her story has been told many times, but a part that was not in cluded was that fateful day when she spoke to the assembled Lions. Helen asked the Lions clubs to take up her cause. She asked them to make the organization’s work to help people with sight and hearing impairments. “To become my Knights of the Blind in th e crusade against darkness.”

The Lions agreed to take up Helen's challenge. They would become the Knights of the Blind. They would devote themselves to helping men and women and children the world over, who are less fortunate than themselves. They would dedicate their clubs to provid ing eye examinations, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and funding wherever it could make a difference in the lives of those people who could not see the sights, could not hear the sounds that the rest of us take for granted every day.

Since 1917, the Lions clubs in the U.S. have grown to become a worldwide organization, the International Association of Lions Clubs. There are now over 40000 clubs in over 183 countries all across the planet. Worldwide membership is more than 1.4 million strong. Women have become a valuable addition to Lions clubs since the early years, and teens from age 13 to 18 are encouraged to experience the organization by joining a Leo club. Every year, Lions clubs across the world, including those at home, provide money for eye exams, and eyeglasses for those people who otherwise could not afford what we consider a simple daily activity: to see and hear the world around us. Former President Jimmy Carter has remarked that “Millions of people can see today and can work to support their families because of the blindness prevention activities of Lions and Lions Clubs International Foundation”.

The activities performed by Lions take many forms. Of course, the main emphasis is always to provide funding for Sight and Hearing organizations, such as The Vermont Association for the Blind, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind. In the Lions year 2000-2001, o ver 5.2 million pairs of eyeglasses were collected and recycled worldwide. The Lions Club International Foundation supported more than 2.5 million cataract surgeries, and financed the construction or upgrading of 68 eye hospitals.

In addition, we make visits to the infirm; we work to clean up the environment, we contribute food to the needy. New Hampshire and Vermont Lions sponsor an annual soccer tournament to raise funds for the Austine / Green Mountain Lions summer camp for hear ing impaired children.

All clubs conduct a variety of fundraisers, to provide money for many charitable activities. One prominent example is disaster relief, such as the flooding in northern Vermont several years ago. Funds are also provided to deserving local organizations suc h as Rescue Squads, Senior Centers, Diabetes Associations, Libraries, and the Scouts.

Vermont is known as District 45, and today there are approximately 50 Lions clubs, and 5 Leo clubs, in all areas of the state. There are nearly 1500 dedicated men, women, and teens who raise funds, and donate their efforts to contribute to their communiti es.

In Essex Junction, a major project is underway to create Veteran’s Memorial Park at the center of the village. The park will honor those people who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country to preserve the way of life we cherish today. Constructi on work has recently begun, with the first phase to be completed this summer. Fundraising is continuing to provide the money required to fully complete the project. To see the artist’s conception of the finished park, and to learn how to participate, visi t the village web site: http://www.essexjunction.org/veterans.htm or the Essex Jct. Lions site: http://members.aol.com/Lionsejvt/ .

To learn more about Lions Clubs International, seek out your local Lions Clubs in District 45, or visit these Lions web sites:

www.Lionsclubs.org or www.lionwap.org/district45 or www.vermontel.com/~threem/ .

The Essex Junction Lions Club meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, September through June, at 6:30 PM, at the Lincoln Inn. Visitors are always welcome.

Stop by our food concession stand at the Champlain Valley Exposition in August. Ask a Lion about how we serve our community, and support Lions worthy causes !